Biographies

Charlie Cornish – Chief Executive of MAGCharlie took up the post of Group Chief Executive for the Manchester Airports Group Plc (MAG) on 1 October 2010 with responsibility for the UK’s largest British owned airport operator. Prior to joining MAG, Charlie was Managing Director of Utility Solutions, the commercial business of United Utilities (UU) with operations in the UK, Middle East, Australia, Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia and the Philippines. During his seven years at UU, Charlie was a PLC main Board Director of this FTSE100 company. Before UU, Charlie worked for a number of manufacturing and service companies including Plessey Telecommunications, British Aerospace and ABF.

Andrew Cowan - Chief Operating OfficerAndrew joined M.A.G at the start of 2013 as Chief Operating Officer. With overall responsibility for Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth Airports, he is particularly focused on delivering operational improvement plans which drives better customer service and efficiency.

Prior to his appointment, Andrew was Chief Executive of Robertson Group, an infrastructure, construction and services company based in Scotland and operating throughout the UK.
He started his career as an electrical engineer and spent 20 years in the infrastructure industry holding a range of senior asset management, capital delivery and operational roles, particularly in the utility sector where he worked on assignments in Australia, India and latterly as Managing Director of United Utilities Middle East.

Having served on numerous boards he was previously a director of United Utilities International, United Utilities Electricity Plc and served as a Trustee on the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme. Andrew is married with two sons and is a keen golfer.

Ken OToole (FCA) Chief Commercial Officer of MAGKen OToole is Chief Commercial Officer of MAG, a position he took up after joining the group in January 2012. In this role he is responsible for the key commercial activities across each of the airports of Manchester, London Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth and for the strategic development of the groups revenue base in conjunction with airline, retail, car parks and other partners. Prior to joining MAG, Ken was Director of New Route Development for Ryanair. A native of Cork, Ireland, Ken qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte, prior to working with Credit Suisse, First Boston and Musgrave Group PLC.

Tim Hawkins - Corporate Affairs Director for MAGTim was part of Stansted’s leadership team from March 2011, holding the position of Director of Regulation and Planning. Tim has had responsibility for regulation for Stansted, overseeing delivery of a £200m capital investment programme and engaging with the Airports Commission to promote the strategic importance of Stansted. Before this he held a number of senior positions with BAA, giving him a wealth of experience in regulation and competition issues, as well as experience in shaping aviation capacity policy. Tim has recently been appointed as MAG’s new Corporate Affairs Director, and will lead the Group’s participation in the Airports Commission, as well as engagement with key stakeholders including local and central government, key aviation and regulatory bodies and the media.

Neil Thompson - Chief Finance OfficerNeil joined MAG in 2005 as Chief Finance Officer and then became Corporate Finance Director, prior to taking on the role of Group Chief Financial Officer. Neil previously held senior finance roles at The MAN Group and ALSTOM, with responsibility across businesses in the UK, Europe, North America, Canada, India, Singapore and Australia. Prior to the power generation sector, Neil spent 7 years in financial practice, specialising in Corporate Finance and merger and acquisition transactions, latterly with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Andrew Harrison - Managing Director – Stansted AirportAndrew Harrison was appointed Managing Director of Stansted Airport on 1st March 2013, having held the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Group since April 2012. Prior to this he was Managing Director of Manchester Airport, a role he had held since September 2010.

Andrew joined Manchester Airport as Commercial Director in 2005 and was responsible for retail development, latterly extending his remit to include car parking, marketing and aviation development. He led the £80m redevelopments of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, the growth of the car park business through new products and distribution channels, and negotiations with key airlines which included bringing the A380 to Manchester. Prior to joining Manchester Airport, Andrew held a variety of positions during his nine year career with Marks & Spencer in the UK, Europe and the Far East. Andrew is 40 years old and married with three children. Originally from Yorkshire, he spent four years at Sheffield University studying Japanese. He is a keen sports fan and supports Huddersfield Town football club.

Collette Roche – HR Director
Collette has developed her HR career working in a variety of sectors and international blue chip companies. Graduating from Lancaster University with a Business Management degree she joined Ford Motor Company, where she held a number of posts including Employee Relations Manager in Dagenham. Collette then moved to Siemens where she was responsible for the people elements of bidding, transitioning and transforming PFI contracts. In 2002, she joined United Utilities where she held a number of senior specialist and generalist HR roles in its commercial and international businesses. After a brief period as HR Director at Connaught, Collette joined MAG as HR Director. During her career, Collette has had exposure to strategic leadership, transformation, talent management, organisational development and effectiveness, with a strong emphasis on driving a high performance environment.